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Muziwethu Hadebe Sports Correspondent
HIGHLANDERS Football Club posted a loss of $65,657 and was sitting on a debt of $ 651,951 as of December 31, 2014.

The club’s external auditors once again gave a qualified audit opinion of their findings. This means Bosso still needs to address its internal control systems as well as have an effective accrual system to facilitate creditor reconciliations.

Bosso secured sponsorship of $400,000 for the season ahead from their principal sponsors BancABC. This is a drop from the $700,000 the club secured from the bank last year.

The bank continues to be the biggest contributor in terms of the club’s revenue. Total revenue of $1,517,712 was recorded last year, with the bank contributing $653,807.

Following up as a significant contribution was the clubhouse sales as well as the Manwele Beer Garden that contributed a combined $381,386. The two entities are operating at a loss but showed that with proper management they can contribute to the financial position of the club.

“We recommend a separate committee to run the two entities for better management,” read the audit presentation to the Bosso members.

Other notable income came from gate takings as Bosso realised $118,138 an increase from $108,888 in 2014.

This is despite that the team finished the year using Hartsfield Rugby Ground instead of Barbourfields Stadium. The Dynamos clash continued to be the highest revenue generator at the turnstiles realising $23,802 although it went down from 2013 when it realised $28,675.

Touted as the biggest contributor of revenue in other leagues, TV rights saw the club get $20,464, up from $18,800 in 2013.

With an unclear marketing strategy in place the team made a poor $25 from the sale of merchandise. This was a drop from the $95 made in the previous financial year.

Although the replica jerseys are mainly controlled by the technical partner, it will seem there is little marketing of other memorabilia that the club can put on the market.

Membership fees contributed $3,650 while donations stood at $8,689. Prize money in competitions saw Bosso collect $197,000 despite not winning a single cup.

Highlanders’ operating expenses shot up from $1,046,183 to $1,349,596. The bulk of the expenses were consumed by salaries and staff benefits that saw the club forking out $730,758. The figure includes $12,000 recorded as executive transport allowances, the figure did not change from the 2013 financial year. Administration expenses stood at $233,773, with fines at $48,818

For a change Highlanders made money from the sale of players, with the sale of Khumbulani Banda and Cleopas Dube realising $75,000.

Bosso had made a paltry $500 in the sale of Gabriel Nyoni to Plumtree Chiefs in 2013. With no immediate solution to the ballooning debt, Bosso should target selling at least five players a year.

Chairman Peter Dube told members at the AGM that the club was embarking on cost cutting measures to curtail the debt. Treasurer Jerry Sibanda said negotiations were underway with creditors, most of whom are former players and coaches at the club, as well as some current players.

It is clear the executive will have to devise serious cost cutting measures while at the same time looking for new revenue avenues to complement the BancABC sponsorship. This will need a new marketing strategy.

It might be difficult given the fact that the club appointed a chief executive officer without the necessary supporting staff like an accountant, operations manager, marketing manager and a public relations officer to support some of the key positions in the new club licensing recommended by Fifa.

*The writer is an intern with our sister paper B-Metro and presents football programmes for StarFM and Supersport.